microfiche
microfiche Lexical Profile
microfiche Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A flat, rectangular sheet of photographic film bearing a grid of miniature images of printed pages or documents, read using a specialized magnifying viewer.
"The historian spent the afternoon in the library basement examining 19th-century census records stored on microfiche."
• verb
To photograph or record documents, newspapers, or pages onto a flat sheet of microfilm at a greatly reduced scale for archival storage.
"Before digital scanners became widespread, the university library microfiched its entire collection of fragile back-issue periodicals."
Word Nuance & Usage
While often confused with microfilm, which comes on a continuous spool or reel, microfiche specifically refers to flat, rectangular sheets of film.
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in the mid-20th century from French microfiche, formed from micro- (from Ancient Greek mikros, meaning 'small') and fiche ('slip of paper' or 'index card').